Study on the Catalytic System for Hydroesterification Reaction of Ethylene Oxide
State Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Engineering and Industrial Catalysis, Shanghai Research Institute of Petrochemical Technology, SINOPEC, Shanghai 201208, China
Abstract：In order to develop more moderate and efficient hydroesterification catalyst for the synthesis of methyl 3-hydroxypropanoate, hydroesterification reaction of ethylene oxide was studied under different catalytic systems in a 100-mL reaction kettle. The influence factors on the reaction were discussed, including catalyst types, different ligands, reaction temperature, catalyst loading, reaction pressure, solvent, and additives. The optimized catalytic system was gotten, using MeOH as solvent, two percent molar ratio of Co2(CO)8 as catalyst, and three percent molar ratio of amino phenol as ligand. The reaction proceeded smoothly under 50-55 °C and CO pressure of 4.1 MPa, and after 4 h, the conversion and selectivity can reach up to 90.8% and 91.0%, respectively. The catalytic system is one of the most mild and efficient for this reaction so far.
